Home › Glossary › Letter A

Aff

Dialect
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Off; the Scots word for "off," common in dialect speech and poetry.

Detailed Definition
"Aff" is the Scots form of "off," used across a wide range of registers from flyting to lyric verse. Its clipped, abrupt sound suits the directness of Scots poetic diction, and it appears in Burns, MacDiarmid, and countless folk songs. The word's brevity gives it percussive energy in a line, and its frequency in everyday Scots speech makes it an essential marker of authentic vernacular voice in Scottish poetry.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Aff" means "off" and Burns writes "He'll stamp an' jump, an' gie a squeal, / An' rin aff skelpin' owre the field." showing sudden departure; A poet might write: "She flung her shawl aff in the rain, / and never looked back doun the lane." to suggest defiance; "The lid flew aff the boiling pot, / and steam rose in the mirky slot." for physical action; "Aff wi' the past, the dreich and drear, / a new daw breaks, the skies are clear." uses the word as an imperative of release; "He shook the mud aff baith his boots, / before he crossed the old hearthroots." grounds a character in rural reality
Additional Notes
Aff appears constantly in Scots verse as both preposition and adverb, and its brevity makes it metrically useful — a single syllable where English might require one or two. Burns, Fergusson, and later MacDiarmid all deploy it naturally. It combines readily with other Scots words: "aff-hand" (offhand), "aff-luif" (extempore), and in compound phrases like "weel aff" (well off). Students should note that "aff" can indicate removal, distance, or departure, giving it emotional as well as directional range. Its bluntness suits the directness often celebrated in Scots poetic tradition.
Also Known As
Off Away
Skip to main content